Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Women’S Socio-Economic Empowerment And Uptake Of Hiv Testing In Ethiopia, Dawit Alemu

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Sub-Sahran Africa constitute two-thirds of all people living with HIV in the world. HIV infection rate is high in the continent with women comprising 56% of new HIV infections among adults 15 and older. Women 15 to 24 are the most affected constituting 66 % of new infections occurring among this age group. The purpose of this study was to examine how gender power relations between men and women affect health seeking behavior, particularly HIV testing, among Ethiopian women age15 to 49.

Methods: The Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) from 2016 served as the data source for …

Experience Of Persistent Pain Among Military Service Members Participating In An Interdisciplinary Intensive Outpatient Program, Barbara Katarzyna Bujak

Theses and Dissertations

Persistent pain is one of today’s most complex issues in healthcare. In the U.S. military, persistent pain affects close to half of the service members who have deployed overseas and up to 73.2% of service members and veterans experiencing persistent pain. Interdisciplinary pain management, considered one of the most effective ways to manage persistent pain, utilizes the biopsychosocial model that illustrates the dynamic interaction between the physiological, psychological and social factors involved in the experience of persistent pain. Effective interdisciplinary programs address all components of the model and result in better coping skills to self-manage persistent pain, decreased fear of …

The Plant-Based And Soul-Full Study (Pass): Examining How Owners Of Local Vegan Soul Food Restaurants Promote The Consumption Of Vegan Foods In The African American Community, Anthony Crimarco

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Obesity remains a prevalent public health epidemic and African American (AA) adults are disproportionately affected by obesity more than any other ethnic group. There are also disparities in obesity by location, with the South having the highest rates compared to other geographic regions in the United States. Addressing poor dietary habits is important for improving obesity rates among AAs, but there has been limited research that has focused on specifically developing culturally-tailored interventions. With a recent number of soul food restaurants serving exclusively vegan meals opening up across the country to appeal to AAs and others interested in eating …

Sociocultural Factors Influencing Cervical Cancer Prevention And Control Behaviors In Cusco, Peru, Venice Elizabeth Haynes

Theses and Dissertations

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer; however, it continues to pose significant health challenges for women in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in Peru. Studies previously conducted in Peru have examined factors associated with cervical cancer screening, screening access, availability, and geographical determinants on cervical cancer incidence and mortality. These studies have suggested the need to explore sociocultural factors and the roles of men and women in screening decisions associated with excessive cervical cancer burden and low rates of screening among Peruvian women. The goal of the dissertation research was to explore influences of …

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) For Hiv Prevention: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Sexual Risks And Knowledge, Perceptions, And Willingness Of Prep Use Among African American Women In The South, Jamie Troutman

Theses and Dissertations

There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV in United States, with nearly 40,000 new diagnoses annually. Significant regional and racial disparities are associated with HIV diagnoses — with the South experiencing the greatest burden of HIV and African American women accounting for 60% of new diagnoses among women. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been designated as an effective tool to prevent HIV transmission among individuals who may be at risk of HIV infection. Earlier PrEP research has focused mainly on at-risk groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM). Previous PrEP research involving African American women included …

Evaluating Impacts Of A Multilevel Resilience-Based Psychosocial Intervention On Mental Health Of Children Affected By Parental Hiv In China, Yanping Jiang

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Children affected by parental HIV are commonly exposed to multiple risk factors, including parental illness and death, other traumatic life events, HIV stigma, and poverty, all of which in turn put them at elevated risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes. Previous research has suggested the promise of psychosocial interventions in improving mental health for children affected by parental HIV through an integrated and multilevel resilience-based approach. However, there are few multilevel resilience-based interventions for this group, and the efficacy of such interventions on mental health outcomes has not been fully examined. Furthermore, very few studies have examined whether …

Social Networks, Social Support, And Contextual Factors That Affect Blood Glucose Control Among Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Urban Ghana, Marian O. Botchway

Theses and Dissertations

This study used primary data from Kumasi, Ghana, to examine whether social networks, social support, diabetes-related stigma, religion, and traditional medicine affected blood glucose (HbA1c) control among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). First, the study evaluated whether three social network characteristics (kin composition, household composition, and network density) were directly or indirectly (via social support) associated with HbA1c. Kin composition and household composition were significantly associated with social support. Neither network characteristics nor social support were associated with HbA1c, which suggests that social network characteristics may operate through mechanisms other than social support to affect HbA1c among study …

Parenting And Child Self-Regulation As Mechanisms For The Relationship Of Household Food Insecurity With Child Dietary Behavior, Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Food insecurity is both a nutritional problem and a stressful life experience of adults and children in households dealing with food shortage. Potential mechanisms of the associations between food insecurity and adverse outcomes in children’s health and development are through parenting and child self-regulation.

Objectives: We investigated parenting and child self-regulation as potential mechanisms for the relationship of food insecurity with child dietary behaviors with two specific aims. Specific aim 1 was to understand how food insecurity and its change over time relate to parenting in early childhood. Specific aim 2 was to understand the relationship of parenting in …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Academic Pressure And Non-Medical Prescription Stimulant Use Among University Of South Carolina Undergraduate Students, Arslan Valimohamed

Senior Theses

One hundred and six undergraduate students of the University of South Carolina were surveyed to understand misuse of prescription stimulants and how perceived academic pressure may play a role in this behavior. Overall, the survey revealed that 33.0% of participants reported illicit use of prescription stimulants in the last 30 days, and 52.8% reported illicitly using prescription stimulants at least once during their time in college. Data from the survey responses indicated that students perceiving academic pressure were more likely to have misused prescription stimulants at least once during their time in college, but only if these students also reported …

The Impact Of Nutritional Changes On Dietary Inflammatory Index: New Soul Study, Callie Mclean

Senior Theses

The Impact of Nutritional Changes on Dietary Inflammatory Index: NEWSoul

Callie McLean; Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy, PhD, MS, RD; Michael Wirth, PhD; Anthony Crimarco, MS

Background: Historically, a soul food diet consisted of mainly plant-based foods in West Africa and evolved to a mostly meat-based diet in the Southeastern United States. As a result, many soul foods today often exceed the recommended dietary guidelines for saturated fats and cholesterol. This is important to consider for dietary interventions focusing on African American populations, since they are at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease and chronic illness compared to all other ethnic groups. One …

Role Of Resources For Care In Improving Care Behaviors, Children’S Nutritional Status And Early Childhood Development In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Sulochana Basnet

Theses and Dissertations

Poor child growth and suboptimal early childhood development are global health problems. Provision of appropriate care may help to achieve optimum child growth and development. Maternal resources for care such as education, knowledge, health, autonomy, reasonable workload, and social support may be needed to provide appropriate care behaviors, and improve children’s nutritional status, and early childhood development. The overall goal of this research was to understand the role of resources for care in improving care behaviors, child nutritional status, and early childhood development. The baseline Alive & Thrive household surveys from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ethiopia were used. We examined the …